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Besides one less hour paddle I guess the Canoe Lake access point would be a quicker drive? While I love scenery, I would vote for whichever access point saves driving time.

Not only that point on the quicker drive, the scenic route also has 7 portages that totaled several kilometers. The Canoe lake route while only 2 portages and a lift over a beaver ****, has long sections of paddling between portages and the last one to McIntosh Lake is marked as 2300m on the algonquinmap.com site.

So pick your poison.

Cheers

Brian

Good judgment comes from experience, and often experience comes from bad judgment. - Unknown

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Not only that point on the quicker drive, the scenic route also has 7 portages that totaled several kilometers. The Canoe lake route while only 2 portages and a lift over a beaver ****, has long sections of paddling between portages and the last one to McIntosh Lake is marked as 2300m on the algonquinmap.com site.

So pick your poison.

Cheers

Brian

Thanks Brian, I can read a map and tally portages as well as anyone and know the routes through that part of Algonquin quite well, having paddled and portaged along them countless times over the last 30+ years. The Canoe/McIntosh paddle is one I've does many times, in fact it retraces the same Canoe/Tom Thomson route we did a few years back. Sometimes a change of scenery is worth the sweat.

Poison? Most experienced canoeists I know don't worry overmuch about portages. While most of the time we'd rather not do them, and we grumble while we're on them, we understand that they're an essential part of travelling through the bush, of getting out away from the crowds and discovering routes less travelled. Not to mention that the easiest routes have a disproportionate number of yahoos and recieve the most fishing pressure and those are things I'd rather avoid.

As I've mentioned before, portages are often a welcome relief. They give paddlers a chance to stretch their legs, have a snack, snap a few pictures and get close to the forest. To be honest, sometimes the hardest portages become the most memorable portions of the trip. Sure the long ones and the steep ones and the boggy ones are tough, but so what? So is going to the gym. If you pack lightly and take turns carrying the canoe, then portages are really little more than heavy duty hiking. If you pack heavily, well you've got no one to blame but yourself. Every year I see hordes of enthuasistic kids who've managed to scramble from lake to lake and they're almost always smiling.

For my part, most of the most interesting people I've met and sights I've seen have been in the remote, difficult to access places. There's a mutual respect for the land and a willingness to pay the price of admission.

So please, ease up on the canoeing advice.

Last edited by Chard; 03-07-2013 at 16:31.

Survival is about getting out alive, Bushcraft is about going in to live - Chard (aka Forest-Hobo)

What a great video. If I'm not mistaken, that's the boardwalk about 300 metres before the Ink Lake landing. Nice to see it again. Winds can pick up a bit and woe to you if you should stumble, but we've always managed without incident.

As for the portage, overall it's fairly flat or rolling. There's only a couple of slopes to worry about. Back when I was in tripp'n shape my buddies and I all but jogged across it. I think 20 minutes was our best time, water to water. But that was a long time ago.

So don't be daunted. It's long'ish, but no one's forcing anyone to do a non-stop single carry. Also, the guys are usually really good about helping with extra gear (Thanks Bubba!) or awkward vessels (you know who you are!). With my knee I'll likely take it quite easy anyway.

Cheers,

Last edited by Chard; 03-06-2013 at 13:27.

Survival is about getting out alive, Bushcraft is about going in to live - Chard (aka Forest-Hobo)

I'm not fussed about portages. They do add to the trip. I had a great time in the soul sucking bog and the Devil's Staircase a couple years back. I'm just thinking about maxizing my time in the park and minimizing the drive if possible.

I'm not fussed about portages. They do add to the trip. I had a great time in the soul sucking bog and the Devil's Staircase a couple years back. I'm just thinking about maxizing my time in the park and minimizing the drive if possible.

No worries Bubba, it never crossed my mind for a minute. Canoe Lake is, admittedly, much easier for access for peolpe coming in from Southern or Eastern Ontario.

Survival is about getting out alive, Bushcraft is about going in to live - Chard (aka Forest-Hobo)

Re Spring Trip

This looks like a great idea!

For the time being I am schedule all 4 nights of that weekend and it is unlikely I will be able to change that. I will work to move mountains but for the time being I will have to be on the dock looking longingly as you paddle away. Any progress on availability and I will post it here. As always my driveway is open for a carpooling lot if it helps.

Cheers

Cedar.

...to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach,...

For the time being I am schedule all 4 nights of that weekend and it is unlikely I will be able to change that. I will work to move mountains but for the time being I will have to be on the dock looking longingly as you paddle away. Any progress on availability and I will post it here. As always my driveway is open for a carpooling lot if it helps.

Cheers

Cedar.

That's a major drag! What if we arranged to call 911 from McIntosh!! Sounds promising!!!

Survival is about getting out alive, Bushcraft is about going in to live - Chard (aka Forest-Hobo)